What Yad Chessed does

Yad Chessed is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (legal entity Yad Chessed Fund, Inc.) founded in 1989 by Robert Housman in Boston, Massachusetts, and headquartered in Newton, MA. The organization provides emergency financial assistance, food support, and social work case management to Jewish individuals and families experiencing economic hardship in Massachusetts and surrounding regions. Core programs include direct payments for rent, mortgage, utilities, medical co-payments, and essential expenses; grocery and kosher market gift cards that preserve client dignity of choice; budget counseling and referrals to benefits such as SNAP; holiday-specific food programs (Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Purim, Shavuot, Passover, Hanukkah); and Jewish burial assistance delivered in partnership with funeral homes, cemeteries, and rabbis. A bilingual Russian-speaking case manager extends service access to the Russian-Jewish community.

The organization operates without a proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-driven through a small team (CEO Nancy J. Kriegel, Associate Executive Director Deborah Freed, and four social workers) supporting online intake, phone, email, and in-person consultations. The Jewish Assistance Network (JAssist), developed with CJP (Combined Jewish Philanthropies), is a digital resource hub that aggregates community services across nine categories including legal, financial, housing, transportation, food, health, employment, family care, and Jewish life. There is no mobile app, API, or AI/ML product disclosed.

Yad Chessed's revenue model is entirely donation-based, with no fee-for-service or government contract revenue. Funding sources include individual donations (64% of donations are $100 or less), foundation grants (including CJP), planned giving and bequests, donor-advised fund grants, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, and appreciated stock donations. The organization serves 1,000+ households / approximately 2,000 individuals annually across 151+ cities and towns, with a client base skewing toward low-income seniors (60% aged 50-70), single-parent households with children (50% of households with children), and individuals living on $24,000 or less per year (75% of clients).

Name

Yad Chessed

Legal name

Yad Chessed Fund, Inc.

Website

https://yadchessed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yad Chessed is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides emergency financial assistance, food support, and social work case management to Jewish individuals and families in Massachusetts experiencing economic hardship. It serves roughly 2,000 individuals annually across 151+ cities and towns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Yad Chessed depends entirely on the generosity of private individual donors. 64% of all donations are $100 or less. Donors give throughout the year to honor life cycle events, on Jewish holidays, to honor a loved one's passing, and more.
2. Foundation Grants: Programs are funded by foundations from the caring and compassionate community. Yad Chessed collaborates with CJP (Combined Jewish Philanthropies) and other organizational partners.
3. Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts: Bequests in estate plans, beneficiary designations of assets, and other planned gifts ensure continuity of mission.
4. Donor-Advised Funds and Stock Donations: Accepts Donor-Advised Fund grants, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (up to $100,000/year tax-free for those 70.5+), and appreciated stock/securities donations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Yad Chessed provides emergency financial assistance (rent, mortgage, utilities, medical co-pays), food support through grocery gift cards and kosher holiday meals, and social work case management with guidance and referrals to Jewish individuals and families in Massachusetts experiencing economic hardship. All services are delivered free of charge by a small team of social workers and funded exclusively by individual donations and foundation grants. The organization also operates JAssist, a digital resource hub powered by CJP that connects community members to local services.

Product overview

Yad Chessed is a nonprofit social services organization (not a technology product company) offering a unified set of emergency assistance and support services to Jewish individuals and families in Massachusetts. The core offerings include Emergency Financial Assistance for housing and bills, Food Support through grocery gift cards, Guidance and Referrals via social work case management, Special Circumstances Assistance for unique needs like Jewish burials, and the Jewish Assistance Network (JAssist) resource finder. Holiday-specific programs provide food assistance during Jewish holidays. All services are delivered through a team of social workers and funded by private donations and foundations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JAssist: Jewish Assistance Network (JAssist), powered by CJP in collaboration with organizational partners and local social service agencies, makes it easier for community members to anonymously identify and access services nearby. It reduces barriers to finding help and empowers individuals with the knowledge and support needed to thrive. Categories include Legal, Financial, Housing & Utilities, Transportation, Food, Health & Wellness, Employment, Family & Care, and Jewish Life.

Products and services

• Emergency Financial Assistance

Quantifiable outcome

• Assists 1,000+ households / 2,000 individuals annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CJP (Combined Jewish Philanthropies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCJP collaborated with Yad Chessed to power the Jewish Assistance Network (JAssist). CJP provides institutional support and partnerships with local social service agencies to reduce barriers to finding help and empower individuals with knowledge and support.
• Funeral Homes, Cemeteries, and RabbiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYad Chessed partners with funeral homes, cemeteries, and rabbis to ensure everyone can carry out the sacred mitzvah of a Jewish burial for grieving families who cannot afford it.
• Local Social Service AgenciesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with agencies, organizations, community leaders, and volunteers to address complex and multilayered challenges that one entity alone cannot solve.
• Jewish Organizations and SynagoguesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSynagogues and Jewish organizations serve as referral partners, helping connect individuals in need to Yad Chessed's services.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW): NCJW is a national Jewish women's organization with local sections providing social services, food assistance, and advocacy for Jewish families. Operates a similar safety-net model at greater geographic scale.
• Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA): JSSA provides social services, counseling, and emergency assistance to Jewish individuals and families in the Greater Washington/Maryland/Virginia area. Functionally analogous to Yad Chessed but operating in a different regional market.
• Jewish Vocational Service (JVS Boston): JVS Boston is a Jewish-affiliated nonprofit serving the same Massachusetts community with workforce development, training, and social services. It overlaps on the client demographic and the Boston-area Jewish communal ecosystem.
• Hebrew SeniorLife: Hebrew SeniorLife serves the older Jewish population in Greater Boston with housing, healthcare, and social services. With 60% of Yad Chessed's clients aged 50-70, there is significant client-base overlap on the elderly Jewish demographic.
• Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles: JFSLA provides social services to the Los Angeles Jewish community including case management, financial assistance, and food support. Same functional model as Yad Chessed, different geography.
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger: MAZON is a national Jewish nonprofit focused specifically on food insecurity and hunger relief — directly overlapping with Yad Chessed's food support and grocery gift card programs, but operating at the national grantmaking/policy level.
• Jewish Family & Children's Service (JF&CS) of Greater Boston: JF&CS is the most direct comparable — a Jewish social services agency serving Greater Boston and Massachusetts with case management, counseling, and emergency assistance for Jewish individuals and families. It operates in the same geography and serves the same target population with overlapping programs.

Broad incumbents

• Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP): CJP is Yad Chessed's strategic partner and the broader Jewish communal funding umbrella for Greater Boston. It is a much larger federation that allocates grants to agencies like Yad Chessed and co-powers the JAssist platform — overlapping capability at a portfolio level rather than direct service delivery.
• UJA-Federation of New York: UJA-Federation is the largest Jewish communal federation in North America, funding and operating a broad portfolio of social services in the New York region. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the Jewish social services ecosystem, though at much larger scale.
• Jewish Federation of North America: The national umbrella for Jewish federations across the U.S., including CJP. It does not deliver direct services but sets priorities and coordinates the federation system that funds agencies like Yad Chessed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yadchessed
• Facebookfacebook.com/yadchessedfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yad-chessed

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Yad Chessed